Summary of Project This project was linked with the situation of the past 2 years with young migrants based Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and Mozambique that have built a strong relationship with their colleagues in Europe and Africa through The network of youth organizations connected with much training that have been held on youth participation, leadership, entrepreneurship and project management, some organizations that work with social and youth fields came to support and cooperate with this project to empower political and civic participation of young migrants. We had interest of some organizations with African background with a huge presence in Europe created a strong timeline of their involvement to participate in this project as way to improve the participation of young migrants in European and African countries. The first part of project gave a voice to a growing part of the youth sector which has focused on inclusive participation of young migrants, particularly with few opportunities, and also offer the young ethnic leaders a platform to be able to contribute to political and civic participation in residence countries. It was in light of that effort in this part of project that youth members of partner organizations to contribute immensely to African Diaspora youth organisations in Europe firstly by achieving successfully the coordination meeting and International Seminar in Sweden and training course in Cape Verde. This part of preparation was also important to prepare the ICT information such as building the website ;http://www.youthsconnect.com/& ; facebook page & Connect Youth in Africa and Europe and Twitter of project, design and print the roll-ups, banners, flyers and all the rest of promoted materials. The organizers also had the opportunity to launch the project in Dublin where many African and European organizations where presented in the international meeting. The projects from begin started with good communication and preparation between the partners. Since begin the contributions of the partner organizations in the selection and involvement of each participants and experts was very well planned and prepared. The partners did great work to implement well this project by: - Assist AEC in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of each activity did until now in this project. - Support AEC with follow up activities developed by partner organizations at local level and leaded by some youth participants from International Seminar in Sweden and Training in Cape Verde.
- Help AEC with all logistical and arrangement for the implementation of activities in Sweden and Cape Verde, - Create a team with AEC to prepare participants, logistical arrangement, and security during all steps of activities with group from their countries. - Invite other organizations to cooperate and articulate their projects with CONNECT project. - Provided key information and tools that supported the team organizers and trainers to lead and coordinate the sessions during all activities. - Provide best practices examples of local projects promoted by other organizations in disadvantage neighborhoods. - Designed and involved youth workers participants in the structure of sessions plans implemented in the International Seminar and training. - Share knowledge and experience of local impacts and participants actions in the training activity. - Share successful projects achieved before by partner organizations based in Africa and Europe. - Supported the AEC team organizers in the implementation of the contents and knowledge of the group. - In the coordination meeting that have be done in Sweden more organizations were represented and visited during the week for besides the representatives of partner organizations came Finland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and Mozambique. There were also workshops and panel discussions that happen in Jarva - Ocala. Two special local representatives of immigrant organizations were invited to participate in the coordination meeting as way to prepare International Seminar the next activity in Sweden. There was a need why the partners reinforced their synergies to work in this project during the coordination meeting in Stockholm due the articulation that the CONNECT project had to do with other local projects and local institutions and organizations to increase the local impact of project. It was crucial moment that representatives of each partner organization from the partner organizations saw during the preparatory moments, particularly with the clear intention of partners to involve also people living in disadvantage neighborhoods without any concrete actions that could improve the political and civic participation and life conditions of people that are facing social problems, because the lack of understanding and knowledge of national systems existing in their residences countries. It was a unanimous decision took by partner organisations during the coordination meeting in Stockholm to collaborate with each other and looking for co-fund and lead local activities where in the come to the local CONNECT project activities when it happen in their countries. The group of partner decided
to carry with all processes of analyzing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any participative change processes invoked by those interventions. It was important to start with more cooperation between the African and European organizations because this decision opened the possibility to cooperate at regional, national and international level with other organizations and institutions to promote political and civic participation of young migrants. The project started with good communication and preparation between the partners. Since begin the contributions of the partner organizations in the selection and involvement of each participant was very well planned and prepared. Our partners did great work to implement well this project by: - Assist AEC in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of this project. - Support AEC with follow up activities developed by partner organizations and leaded by some participants with migrant background, particularly with African origin from European and African countries. - Help AEC with all logistical and arrangement for the implementation of activities where happened in Stockholm Cape Verde, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe, including job shadowing activities in each partner countries. - Create a team with AEC to prepare participants, logistical arrangement, and security during all steps of activity with group from their countries. - Invite other organizations to cooperate in the follow up of this project and next projects. - Provided key information and tools that supported the team organizers and trainers to lead and coordinate the sessions during all activities. - Provide best practices examples of social projects promoted by other organizations in European and African countries. - Designed and involved young migrant participants in the structure of sessions plans implemented in the activities. - Share knowledge and experience of social impacts and youth actions in the training activity. - Share successful projects achieved before by African Diaspora youth organizations based in Europe and Africa. - Supported the team organizers in the implementation of the contents and knowledge of the group. - The International Seminar Building from within: Improving integration and migration policies together with young migrants was achieved in Stockholm- Sweden, where 20 representatives from partner organizations from Africa and Europe had a chance during 5 working days to discuss on the role and importance of increasing the capacity of NGOs working with young migrants to
influence policy at local and regional level with city council of Stockholm and the Jarva regional governmental in Stockholm. In the International Seminar the team showed very competent and with more than 10 years of experience in social works and activities done at national and international level involving African immigrant groups. The experience implemented in this activity was crucial to: - Share experience on immigrant and social field in Europe. - Share experience on working with immigrant community in disadvantage situation. - Share experience on lead sessions among people living in disadvantage situation and with social problems. - Share experience to coordinate and develop actions plans for social and youth projects. - Provide knowledge on European and African opportunities, social-economical inclusion on young immigrants, participation and cooperation fields. - Increase the capacity to work on intercultural group and how to promote the values of respect and responsibility. - Improve the understanding of need of people with few opportunities living in European and African countries. - Bring more knowledge of non-formal education and non-formal learning methodologies in working groups and youth activities. - Learn more how to work on group facilitation, integration of the group and support on learning process development. Related with competencies the group provided: - Competencies to work in intercultural environment and group of people with few opportunities. - Competencies on well communicate in learning achievement of people. - Technical competencies on report and evaluate group sessions. - Cooperation and partnership competencies on working in international projects with organizations from other countries. - Competencies on project elaboration and dissemination in international events. - Cape Verde was an important moment to train youth workers and youth leaders with migrant background from partner countries from Africa and Europe. The training programme that happened in
Cape Verde was structured with a combination of inputs and plenary discussions and dynamics using non-formal education methods that ensured the active participation of 20 participants involved. The program during 7 working days was divided in working groups and interactive methods that created a diversity of approaches addresses all the group diverse ways to better engage and contribute to the discussed topics. Training Course for youth workers and youth leaders: Together enhancing the participation of young migrants had the support of a team of 2 experienced trainers in non-formal education, advocacy and youth participation. The participants had the opportunity to experience an intense learning process that enabled them to develop the competences to efficiently plan, implement and evaluate multiplication initiatives that involve young migrants in policy development at local and regional level in all partner countries, developing cross sectorial projects involving partner organizations from Sweden, Finland, Portugal Ireland, Cyprus and Poland, design initiatives to campaign and raise awareness of human tracking and how to combat it in Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau. It was presented the program giving information on logistics and working contents during meeting daysand was presented on the topics and themes of the working days and also showed the needs, expectations and contributions during the training days. As highlighted in the program, it was achieved several workshops also on social responsibility and rights to improve the capacity to support people with few opportunities at local territories, understand European grants program and project management. It was also focused on ethics & public good, concerned with socials rights and public trust, local governance and administrative systems to facilitate the young migrant inclusion, ability in social management and dispute resolution among African community. The participants also had chance to know - How to acquire needed resources to provide tools for socials rights at local level? - How to use decision making to support social rights mission at local level? - Systems thinking ability to be a great young migrant for socials rights. The second step was fundamental to achieved and conclude successfully all the activities designed in the project. - The International Conference in Portugal In the International Conference in Portugal, the AEC had joint contribution from the organizers and team of trainers to have gain of competencies for participants focused on knowledge, skills and attitudes on humanity, value of different types of people and management of social works and projects. Therefore, the AEC team provided to the participants opportunity to share their experience, knowledge of community practices and best practices related with young migrant integration of people with few opportunities in disadvantage neighborhoods.
During conference was fundamental to show the research documents and was also provide to the participants the opportunity to share their experience in the migrant and participation fields related with people of different background with few opportunities as way to improve the knowledge of participants by learn from each other on working in diversity group and international environment, getting self-motivated for any youth and social answers and development, understanding of social management to implement in own residence country, getting ability to negotiate for the benefit of organisations and community benefit, get more confidence in handling new tasks at any level, flexible in assignments, doing more youth and social actions, being able to work under tight deadlines on Erasmus+ and others EU and international grants and able to network effectively among European organizations.. The intercultural learning was also focused during the training. The activity was based on non-formal methods of education and learning, addressing intercultural learning as a fundamental process for the development of interculturality aware organizers. Since we perceived intercultural learning as the transversal object of educational policies in this conference, with different implications, and as a permanent educative process beyond the ambit of academic or professional learning, we got deep understanding of cooperation and learning in group and also including education per to per. The working group from the participants tested the intercultural role models as an effective method for demonstrating that people of all genders, ethnicities, religious and appearances have a positive influence on the society and deserves to be respected and emulated. The participants learned the aspect of contributions of various ethnicities, genders, and creeds that make to a variety of different artistic and political youth fields to respect and valorize cultural diversity backgrounds as a whole in this mobility experience. - The Job Shadowing done bilaterally between African and European countries During the Job Shadowing the participants also had the opportunity to get more knowledge on: - Understand organisational mission: understands ethics & public good, concerned with socials rights and public trust. - Understand governance and administrative systems to facilitate the youth workers inclusion. - Demonstrate ability in social management and dispute resolution among african community based in partner countries. - Understand how to acquire needed resources to provide tools for youth and social rights in partner countries.
- Understand how to use decision making to support youth mission in partner countries. - Demonstrated systems thinking ability to be a great youth workers as way to increase the level of participation of young migrants on civic and political sphere at local level and national. - Understand organisational culture to increase the youth and social right answers into communities living in partner countries. - Understand sensitive to diversity, multiculturalism and interculturalism for better socials rights respond. - Able to gather and synthesize information on internal and external youth actions. We receive inputs in the end of Job Shadowing and after each visit in partner countries from the participants and team that we filled well their needs on young migrant participations and management, youth opportunities, social actions understanding, cooperation with other youth groups and communities, understand the way how people feel exclude from the societies where they lives, creation of groups opportunities focused on better life condition and learn how to use non formal education, multicultural/intercultural issues. We structure this Job Shadowing to be strongly interrelated with the capacity of African young migrants to learn also how to act and take responsibility for shaping and integrating in society, exchange of values and best practices on youth workers and social responsibility among immigrants, sharing of experiences and communication skills, facilitation and leadership with young migrant groups at risk of unemployment how to work with immigrant and african organizations, using non-formal education Methodologies. We are believe that the participants improved their expertise of organisational structures analyze, design and processes for youth and social rights, understood variety of social approaches to decision making for the benefit of community, understood administrative law to improve locally the youth right answers, got to know the management of workflow for the organisations that work on social mission, learnt how to formulate and analyze budgets related with youth, mobility, training and youth projects and ho to demonstrate financial analysis and management, how manage information and technology for the organisational and community benefits. They also understood program management focused on social issues, project management related with youth and social programs locally, grant writing for social and youth projects, proposal writing to use among youth organisations and organisations that work young migrants, task analysis and job design as way to demonstrate skill in team building and management, how to be effective in public presentations, able to present technical data, able to facilitate groups, able to write memos under deadline, able to write in-depth research reports and knowledgeable about technical report writing.
- The evaluation meeting in Sao Tome and Principe was fundamental to see and analyze the impact of CONNECT project at European and African level. In Sao Tome and Principe was done great meeting where the partner organizations and team working. local and national institutions and participants had the opportunity to learn with each other. It was a opportunity to update information on the situation of the partner organizations, project activities and network expectations regarding, create a group of African experts and trainers and learning from each other. It was made keys workshops focused on specifics cause and consequence of people without access of social rights in partner countries and support actions of young migrants, especially with few opportunities. We had chance to understand how to provide direct actions to support community with few opportunities in disadvantage situations and reinforce synergies with other youth and organizations. The team did a simulation of young migrants, focused on peer education, showing the impact of African youth in migrant community and the role of African youth Diaspora in European countries. Another good workshops were present to the participants, like contributions to promote of young migrant actions at local level, support local systems of understanding and knowledge to reduce social problems, social support to the people living in partner countries and cooperation strategy between professional young migrants. In Sao Tome and Principe the partners and responsible updated information on the current situation of the partner organizations and network expectations regarding the promotion of project results, defined the work and forms of promotion of the results and impacts of the projects and selected materials that promote knowledge of project. It was created good working groups that developed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation the partners, team building and management for next level of cooperation on projects and social programs. The working group also had change to see the level of commitment and actions, check the indicators of quantity and quality of achievement, the level of satisfaction and learning and the feasibility of actions plans and future cooperation projects among young migrant participants and partners. The roundtables on social responsibility of African Diaspora youth workers for the local development in partner countries and commitment of NGOs and their impacts for benefits of young migrants was good to see importance of impact of Africa Europe youth cooperation between African organizations. The partners had also opportunity to do evaluation and conclusion of project. Project activities and methodology
During the project activities the values of respect for inclusive participation, diversity and promotion of active citizenship reflected as a basis for the whole learning process and the future actions planning of activities. Moreover, as it was mentioned before the topic already mentioned values, so the learning process with these values undoubtedly had an impact in all the moments of project activities. The special thematic focused on the impact of young migrant participation, social entrepreneurship, youth workers competencies and inclusion reflected the issues that were the common concern for European and African society. The team organizers, trainers made sure that, besides the participative tools, the key European tools (produced by the Council of Europe - Directorate of Youth and Sport) would be one of the main learning instruments for the group of participants, such the Compass A Manual to use for Humans Rights Education, Intercultural Education and Coyote - A Manual to use for interactive activities and simulations games used to for the entire project. The whole group learned more on how to formulate and analyze budgets related with youth, mobility, training and youth projects and ho to demonstrate financial analysis and management, how manage information and technology for the organisational and community benefits, how to be effective in public presentations, able to present technical data, able to facilitate groups, able to write memorandums under deadline, able to write in-depth research reports and knowledgeable about technical report writing, how to act and take responsibility for shaping and integrating in society, exchange of values and best practices on young migrants and social responsibility among immigrants, sharing of experiences and communication skills, facilitation and leadership with young migrant groups at risk of unemployment and how to work with young migrant group, using non-formal education methodologies. In the coordination meeting in Stockholm the partner organizations develop many discussion session which allowed them to take a unanimous decision during the coordination meeting in Stockholm to collaborate with each other and looking for co-fund and lead local activities where in the come to the local CONNECT project activities when it happen in their countries. The group of partner decided to carry with all processes of analyzing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any participative change processes invoked by those interventions. It was important to start with more cooperation between the African and European organizations because this decision opened the possibility to cooperate at regional, national and international level with other organizations and institutions to promote political and civic participation of young migrants. In the International Seminar Building from within: Improving integration and migration policies together with young migrants done in Stockholm-Sweden,
the participants from African and European countries had the opportunity to share local practices that increase the political influence of young migrants in their communities and regions. It was also important in this seminar the presentation best practices of participants from African countries that contribute to improve local and regional integration policies and the competences of local stakeholders to work together (multi stakeholders and cross sectoral initiatives) and with migrants in developing new programmes. The participants from Mozambique and Cape Verde showed to the rest of group amazing working they are doing in their countries and the entire group in the seminar explored strategies that contributed to increase the level of the business sector involvement in migrant youth integration by pointing some private and intergovernmental existing programmes. All the participants had also chance to present their national and local exchange initiatives from their countries and that they achieved before which involve local communities and Civil society Organizations, specifically on fight human traffic, particularly the one addressing youth and children. The partner organizations from Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique showed 2 excellent projects where they involve young people to develop local campaigns to reduce the traffic risk of children and youth in their localities. The group of participants representing their organizations created a space for reflection, dialogue and setting of action among youth organizations, migrant youth organization, public authorities and other relevant institutions that can be developed in the coming years. This plan will involve young migrants to develop a work plan to increase the structural dialogue between young people and decision makers and politicians on youth participation at political and civic level. In Cape Verde the team of trainers designed the training course based on nonformal education methodology using experiential learning methods and the previous experience of participants to enlarge the group learning process. A diversity of methods of non formal education, such world cafe, peer learning, Collaborative learning groups, Team-based and assisting learning used to particularly address the different learning styles within the group, using from group work, role plays, plenary discussion and practical and theoretical contributions to increase our group competences. The quality and feasibility of work plans developed by participants was proved through the last activity developed in Sweden where 3 partner organizations from European countries did a mobility of youth workers involving African youth Diaspora. This training also increased the knowledge, skills and attitudes on the fields of advocacy, migrant youth community engagement, policy (youth, migration and integration) and on project development in African and European countries which now all the partners are developing and looking for funds programmes to develop their own local projects and activities. For besides the training programme the group of participants also had the opportunity to visit the city council of Tarrafal and also did a meeting with INE - National Institute of statistics of Cape Verde where 50 participants, being 25 of our group and 25 officers, directors and President of INE.
The conference in Portugal involved young migrant participants that got from other key professionals and key stakeholders more capacity to understanding well how the European and African systems works, youth opportunities in each partners countries and how it can support people that live in disadvantage neighborhoods. In this conference was done a plenary sessions with panel list of orators based non formal education with where participants had chance to increase their skills and knowledge through best practices highlighted during the conference. The bilaterally Job Shadowing between partner organizations from African and European countries was an supportive and learning moments for African youth workers which aimed to bring together youth workers with African origin in a single space to share their experiences and learning form local organizations. This activity had and non-formal methods divided into daily sessions where participants had spaces to present and share their knowledge and at same time improve the capacity to support people at local territories. The moment in the evaluation meeting in Sao Tome and Principe was directed linked with all steps of project that allow the partners and participants involved to cooperate and promote/publicity this project. It was used non formal education as key methods to spread the good practices of project and it happened in European and African countries in the youth spaces and events in the youth and immigrant field and way to support people in disadvantage neighborhoods, where the partner organizations had chance to disseminate the project among organizations, institutions and professional young migrants and other with few opportunities. Quality assurance and evaluation In the monitoring process our team that had good capability to work in diversity group of people with different background and very skilled to work with young migrants using non-formal education in all dynamics achieved during the sessions. We must say the impressive work of trainers that showed creative ideas on the sessions and communication and intercultural skills helped a lot the participants for the success of the training project. The way how we monitor were through necessary information we sent to the young migrant participants and then we collect feedbacks from them as way to recreate our programs to the necessary learn interested by the participants. The monitoring team also developed a large group of items to capture personal characteristics and profile of participants and the opinions of different groups of respondents involved in this CONNECT project. We did this in order to identify challenges of project-based learning and the nature of communication among different groups of people involved in the project. The support of young migrant participants were carried by build common plan in a way that provides opportunities for participants, trainers to organize and
manage their initiatives, understand the need of their community and the society where they are living, build opportunities for young migrants in active participation and develop the ability to take control and responsibility for our own education, learning, and change to rich educational experiences need. After do preparation which we had strategic and preparatory character and was achieved by the team responsible for the project that prepared very well the project activities and the strategy for the follow- up and dissemination. The months of preparation the team used Skype meetings, Viber calls and exchange emails to have good plan and setting the agreement between partners and learning agreements with youth migrant participants. For besides the project physical meetings, we participated in other international events and meetings in EU and African countries to disseminate and spread the results and impact of this CONEECT project and created a email group to share and receive inputs of long terms inputs from the entire group of people involved in this project, we also put the information of our projects impact in own project website http://youthsconnect.com/contact.html and partner websites. The success of this project was the mobilization and involvement of many resources from the partner organizations. All the partner put their own capacities and efforts to make sure that all the steps of project will be well achieved. To make it happen the partner organizations involved in the project did a join articulation to periodically monitor and evaluate the project. The articulation of communication and expertise put in the project achievement allowed the plan to monitor and evaluate the project during all phase to be well done. The partner organizations created a steering committee composed by one element from each organizations to monitor the project by methods of : Control of quality - Check if the objectives are being fulfilled during preparation, implementation and follow-up phases. - Check if the hotels have all the conditions to receive the participants and do workshops during all the activities. - See if the pedagogical information and resources are proper to the topics and themes of the project. - Make sure that the sense of responsibility and task of each partner is being taking in consideration. - Make everyone understand that the group is diverse and the environment will be ensured. - The spirit of solidarity and mutual cooperation were included in all phase of project.
- Ensure the quality of the trainers and programs designed for the project. - Create mechanism to ensure the learning process at same level to all the participants involved in the project. - Ensure that the mobility will be focus on social workers that work in organization that support young migrants in disadvantage neighborhoods. - Make sure that all activities increased also the capacity on social and economical skills to provide social responses for better social-economical inclusion of young migrants in Europe. - Cooperate with the team to make sure that the project impacts and results are being promoted in the best organizational networks and European channels of youth works and participation. Control of quantity - Number of participants is being complete and ensure during all activities. - Confirm that the gender balance is guaranteed in all activities. - Time to achieve the preparation and make sure that all the flights are booked on time. - Make sure that the accommodation, foods and insurance are guaranteed to the participants. - How many organizational is getting information from this project - How many countries is being disseminate the project. - How many social media pages and websites the project is being promoted. The team use key elements to evaluate the project by making: - Question to all responsible of each partner organization about their own feedback related with: Participant s profiles. Travel/flights arrangement for each participant. Materials and tools to be used during the motilities. Logistic, topics, themes and experts involved in the project. - Oral feedbacks made everyday in the reflection groups of both all activities. - Production of evaluation questionnaire, which allowed each participant to give his or her opinion about each activity and entire project.
These methods for monitoring and evaluate this project were also to reflect on priorities and objectives of the program at European and national level, such: - Encourage young migrants to reflect on European topics & youth participation, youth responsibility and intercultural learning and to involve them in the discussion on the construction. - Identify common values with other young migrants from partner countries in spite of their cultural differences. - Encourage professional young migrants, youth workers and other social workers to get social and economical competencies as way to provide better social responses to the immigrant communities based in Europe and Africa. - Increase the participation by young migrants in the civic life of their community. - Provide greater support for various forms of learning to increase social and economical competencies & through non-formal education. - Identify immigrant youth groups that are at disadvantage compared to their peer s related social and economical obstacles. Selection and preparation of participants Through the activities achieved in this project the partners involved professional trainers, experts and young migrant with African background living and work with partner organizations for people with few opportunities in disadvantage situation and at same time open a call to all young migrants based in Europe and Africa from partner countries. Background of the participants: - Young migrants those are active and interested on Africa Europe cooperation. - Social youth workers that work with organization and people with few opportunities in disadvantage neighborhoods. - Young migrants with few opportunities came from different origins countries that face problems of integration. - Youth workers with migrant background that volunteers with many organizations and associations but without being paid. - Young migrants living with economical problems in partner countries disadvantage neighborhoods. - Young migrants that leaving school education early and now are looking for better opportunity.
The need of young migrants with African background that participated in the activities were identified by a good plan and strategy of all partner organisers focusing on civic and political participation at local level for the people living in disadvantage neighborhoods as main contextual factors that was taken into account. The selection of participants were based also on whom wants to: - Support civic and political participation of young migrants in decision-making process. - Help to reduce the social needs of people in disadvantage situation. - Involve in the effort to respond to the needs of the most deprived families in the social area, the sharing and exchange of best practices. - Improve the capacity of social projects development. - Improve the performance of all those involved and optimize the desired goals in each project, strengthening the organizations working in the youth and social fields. - Contribute to the reflection on the youth rights, but also notes some of the experience and the lessons learned, providing practical guidance and procedures necessary to a good action in youth participation projects. - Learn how to find best way that seek consensus without erasing the differences, opening a new path for an effective youth action. All the partner organizations assumed the responsibility to select young migrant participants from their countries to attend the project activities. The African Empowerment Centre as main applicant assumed it own responsibility to select African young migrant participants from Sweden to participate in this project with clear transparency and fair process, although know every young migrants from own organizations and collaborators. The AEC made the selection diversified in terms of young migrant that support with different actions and that also have specific needs to improve capacity on youth and social contributions. The partner organizations did a concrete selection process by call their young migrant and collaborators to apply internally and then according to the profile of participants in this project they did and internal selection in their countries and sent the participants list to the AEC. The recruitment were also done by internal call that allowed also youth workers to candidate and by personal interview and then the team of project selected sent the list of participants to the African Empowerment Centre. Involvement of people with fewer opportunities
The involvement of young migrant participants in teamwork, performance, monitoring and facilitating capacities methods used in inclusive participation issues had many steps in during our CONNECT project. It varied from one-way learning processes, where the capacity on learning from the others are used to pass on ready-made inclusive promotion messages, to more participatory forms of engagement, whereby participants of working group methods and achievement results not only delivered, but also engaged in educational sessions and developed and adapted rapid responses to social projects, youth opportunities, participation and inclusion issues among African youths Diaspora based in partner countries. In our project the teamwork, performance, monitoring and facilitating capacities methods started in preparatory moments and extended on coordination meeting, seminar, training, local meetings conference, job shadowing, evaluation meeting and follow-up activities between participants, trainers, facilitators and organizers. This idea of involving everyone working group in sessions and community initiatives during and after the project was developed in the group on activities that happened in Stockholm, Praia, Lisbon and Sao Tome. It continued to be developed, with more meetings, contacts, works achieved by youth participants in community and practical helping in learning, until it became a significant method for providing good advice results (for instance on democratic and active participation) in community such a local meetings and job shadowing that happened in all partner countries. The trainers who were recruited also as coach used the sessions during activities to set strategies to show and share their youth worker participants in group management and agreement. We used constructive methods of answers and appointment in non formal education methods during the physical meetings not only to disseminate information of impacts and results of our project, but was also a method of oneway communication, in which learning from each other were the multipliers of best practices. The trainers worked as coach in partnership with participants and organizers selected the role-modelling capacity to implement to the whole group during the project. Another area where our participants used intercultural and vocational skills models were used in corporate promotion of project, using other organizations and events by invite others and participate in other events to penetrate new target groups and to recruit new partner organizations. In our project the teamwork, performance, monitoring and facilitation support, made young migrant participants, trainers and organizers to come together with the intention of changing young people with few opportunities, getting into community, and building relationships that are respectful, mutually responsible, and potentially mutually transforming in order to feel safe, accepted and integrated. Within the inclusive participation context, we created conditions for participants who have experienced situations similar to those faced obstacles challenge of inclusion in society by young people with few opportunities living in disadvantage neighborhoods an group building to work on future projects, working on won present or past community involvement, life-situation and
integration experience programs. Generally, we used non-formal learning methods of presentation with specific inside knowledge through own experience to have a positive result in providing learning support to a particular group of African young migrants, as way in experiential knowledge to bring credibility and trust on learning process. Our constructive method programmes were firmly grounded on values of equality. The organizers, trainers and participants shared experiences, background, and recognised (parts of) a common identity. Although each individual is different, with different personal characteristics, participants in working group methods and achievement results groups uniquely recognised other young migrants with few opportunities, not as identical, but on equal basis. The participants that were involved in our group management and agreement support project were working as group with different main personal or professional characteristics from each other, but their work was based on equal relationships and there is a commonality among African young migrant groups. It was a equal relations between the participants with other youngsters from community, equal relations with teamwork support colleagues and equal relations with trainers and organizers. Dissemination The good results of CONNECT project had a great influence in the life of young migrants that participated by providing them more knowledge of European and African opportunities and allowed them to prepare more projects to support people that live in disadvantage neighborhoods where they live. The ones that worth to be shared are also the involvement of young migrant participants in community initiatives and other international youth projects. The representatives from AEC and its partner organizations had chance to participate in training course in Manchester and Brighton promoted by African Centre for Development and Research (where we had the opportunity to share our project information and impact) and also got the invitation to participate in International Conference - ADYFE in Austria at UNIDO head quarter in June promoted by VAS and ADYNE. This invitation that AEC receive to go to Vienna will be one more opportunity to spread the information and a chance to present the results of our project and its impact in the community. The AEC members received an invitation from the Providers of Social responses to the Development to present the project in Portugal once again in their events in the African European Youth Centre that happened in October 2018. We prepared and submitted at National level a project focused on capacity building in the youth field under Erasmus plus programme involving African and European organizations that work with youth and in the social entrepreneurship sector. It was a big challenge that AEC received from organizations that got to know our project and wanted to increase the opportunity to involve more young people and professional young migrants to improve the social-economical
inclusion in African and European countries. In case this project is approved, will be a great chance to put the partner work for youth people and professional young migrants in another level of commitment and development. We also had a chance in September 2018 to participate in International Meeting on Democracy Building learn and engagement - Intercultural engagement and volunteering for civic and democratic participation at European level, in Germany did by MIGRAFRICA, where we had a chance to present the best practice and results of our project. It was important to say that we stimulate more African organizations from Europe and Africa to develop projects focusing on youth and social fields to improve the skills of professional young migrants that work with youth groups and community with few opportunities living in disadvantage neighborhoods. The AEC did an informal meeting with African organizations and youth organizations that work with young migrants and other young people with African background with few opportunities that live in Rinkeby, Husby and Kista to see how to cooperate, increasing synergies and do projects together for the benefits of young migrants in disadvantage situations living in Sweden and partner countries. The partner organization ASDA from Finland achieved a local immigrant youth meeting in Helsinki that also served to promote and experience lived in our project and how could be implemented with other youth organizations that work in the social field from Europe for the benefit of young people with few opportunities living in disadvantage neighborhoods. The annual youth month in Almada promoted by Municipality government of Almada allowed PRSD Network that always achieve activities in the framework of this annual event to send two participants that had the opportunity to share their experience and how to involve other youth with few opportunities in community to be well integrated and participate in other international youth workers motilities. The international meetings in Athens-Greece done by ASANTE, the international youth training course in Cyprus promoted by International Cameroonian Students organizations and transnational training course in United Kingdom (Manchester and Brighton) promoted by African Centre for Development and Research were fundamental for dissemination and visibility of project results. The activity achieved by ASANTE and African Centre for Development and Research in partnership with African Diaspora Youth organizations in Cyprus and in United Kingdom were an important moment to promote the results of our CONNECT project. The target group involved to disseminate and share the results of our project, was: - Young migrants with few opportunities based in partner countries.
- Professional young migrants that are interested to work with NGO and develop projects in Africa - African social youth workers based in Europe. - Youth representatives of African youth organizations based in Europe. - Youth Diaspora People that live in partners countries. - Youth Workers that work with African organization and with young people with few opportunities. - African youth students that are interest in the African community based in EU countries. - Youth Researcher for immigrants community from EU countries. - Representatives of NGOs and governmental institutions that work with youth in disadvantages situations. Impact and sustainability This project had good impact in our partner organizations, countries involved and communities where our partners and young migrant participants work in disadvantage neighborhoods. It helped to develop a whole set skills in African young migrants as participants that improved their abilities in the intervention of civic and political participation, youth and social rights, brought the professional young migrants to the institutions, demystifying and deconstructing preconceived images, brought together others young migrants from African organizations in partner countries to increase the life conditions of people living in disadvantage neighborhoods by active participation and collaborative works in their communities. The impact of project had relevant influence on mobility opportunities that gave to the 4 young migrants that participated by doing internship in Portugal and Finland during one month with partner organizations - ASDA and PRSD Network. The young migrants who are extremely deprived of youth participation, social problems and resolutions in this case youth rights, had the possibility to participate in the system and of the meet, which allowed to have good approach in systems and network of European civic and political interventions. This project also brought social institutions and entities that represent this target audience from Helsinki, Stockholm and Almada to discuss about job solutions, employability and particularly in youth rights supports to the communities in disadvantage neighborhoods. The impact of the project in the participating organisations was elevated not only at local level but also at European and African level with the possibility of having great chance to show the best practices of this project to the other organizations. The PRSD Network Providers of Social Responses to the Development gave good contribution to spread the information of project that